Alexander Road High School grade 11 pupil Jarrad Remy used home ground advantage to edge out the competition, claiming top honours in the Toastmasters Interschools Best Speaker competition.
Throughout the year, several toastmasters take time out of their busy schedules to run youth leadership courses, at which grade 11 pupils are taught communication and presentation skills, how to run a meeting and conduct themselves in the business world.
The eight-week training courses culminated in the recent interschools competition which saw pupils from 16 Bay schools pitted against each other in delivering a three- to fiveminute speech on a subject of their choice.
Toastmasters from Act, Algoa and Uspeak clubs were involved and acted as judges at the event, which was held at Alexander Road High School last week.
The judges were responsible for selecting five top speakers, who then competed in an impromptu contest, where the overall winner was decided.
Algoa Toastmasters Club contest chair Colleen Love said the entire process required a lot of dedication from both pupils and toastmasters, but was well worth it once the participants started presenting.
“This is healthy competition and to ensure that there is no bias, the pupils competing do not wear school uniform and only after the results have been announced, are their respective schools announced.”
Second position was scooped by Benito Stuurman, from Sanctor High School, while third place was taken by Belinda Taljaard, from Pearson High School.
The winners each received a trophy and each participant received a certificate.